17th September

Another unseasonably quiet day, thick cloud and strong winds overnight meant little was seen in the way of passage in the morning. The highlight at the obs came after the cloud cover had melted away when the first Firecrest of the autumn was trapped. The sea continued to be marginally productive with 15 BalearicShearwaters, 2 ArcticSkuas, a Bonxie and 23 CommonScoters. Singles of Hobby, Merlin, Whinchat, SpottedFlycatcher and GoldenPlover added a little variety. There was a hint of things to come with the passage of 5 Skylarks and 3 Chaffinches.

Elsewhere on the island, the real highlight of the day came in the form of a TurtleDove at Wakeham, only the fourth for the year.